Binance launches Mastercard-backed crypto card in Brazil
In partnership with Mastercard, crypto giant Binance is launching its pre-paid card offering cryptocurrency “rewards” on customers’ purchases.
The alliance will see Binance roll out its crypto debit card in Brazil, the second country in Latin America to have the product thanks to a partnership with the payment giant. The Binance Card was issued by Credencial Payments and allows users in the region with a valid national identity document to make purchases and pay bills with cryptocurrencies.
The new offering provides clients with a simple way to acquire cryptocurrencies without having to pay fees or navigate the sometimes complicated onboarding processes at exchanges. The card also offers other benefits such as access to exclusive offers with select merchants and comes with no annual fee or foreign transaction fees.
Binance debit card works just the same as any other bank card, except it isn’t linked to a mobile banking app, but a crypto wallet.
Binance lets clients top-up their card with funds through the Binance Card App and then convert their crypto holdings to fiat within seconds, which can be spent at over 90 million Mastercard merchants worldwide. As such, the card doesn’t directly connect to the platform’s customer account.
Binance card holders can earn up to 8% in crypto cashback on eligible purchases and enjoy zero fees on ATM withdrawals. Clients can pre-select the digital wallet they want to debit when they fund the card balance. The latter can currently hold only two digital currencies, namely Bitcoin and Binance’s native token BNB.
Whenever a cardholder makes a payment, Binance Card instantly converts the cryptocurrencies into other fiat currencies and automatically deducts all expenses and commissions, which yet to be disclosed.
“Brazil is an extremely relevant market for Binance and we will continue to invest in new services for local users, as well as contributing to the development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the country,” said Guilherme Nazar, general manager at Binance for Brazil.
Latin America ranks fifth in the world for cryptocurrency adoption and consistently captures between 8% and 10% of global cryptocurrency activity. The region saw a ten-fold increase in the use of cryptocurrencies over the last two years.
The move also comes nearly three months after Binance cut ties with its existing payments partner in Brazil due to conflict with “its values.”
Citing the new requirements imposed by the Central Bank of Brazil, Capitual said it had to cut ties with Binance as the exchange failed to comply with the new rules. The Brazilian bank, which also provides payments services for other exchanges, said Kucoin and Huobi have adapted their systems to the changes. As such, they remain operational on the Capitual platform, and their customers can continue their transactions with reais regularly.
